User Reviews

I purchased the Privateers after the cleat and portion of the sole on one of my Diadora Escape 2 shoes ripped off in my pedal. My two previous shoes were size 42 so I ordered a pair of size 42 and a pair of size 42.5 shoes based on reviews about the shoes running a little larger than other shoes. The size 42 shoes were too small so I tried the size 42.5 shoes. The 42.5 size just fit with the stock footbeds, which have rather thick arches. Replacing the stock footbeds with a pair of Specialized Body Geometry footbeds made the shoes fit better. After using the Privateers for several months I have noticed that my pinky toes and tops of my feet are sometimes slightly sore so I have been wearing thinner socks. Otherwise, the shoes have been very durable, especially in the toebox areas, which often get scraped from rocks and pedals. The soles are stiff and allow a lot of power transfer, which I noticed has helped my pedaling. The tread has provided good grip despite not being very aggressive. The only downside that I have found is that the middle strap buckles seem to sit on the tendons on the tops of my feet. This pressure, combined with the padded tongues, sometimes makes a tight fit depending on which socks I wear. I noticed that the middle buckles are offset to the center from the lower buckles, unlike the Carbide model, which has the middle buckles in line with the lower buckles. If the Privateer model had the same setup, these shoes would probably fit me perfectly.

These shoes are probably some of the best value shoes on the market. I picked up a pair from Art's Cyclery with their $25 Gift Card with $125 Giro purchase and have zero complaints. They work exactly how they shoed and they look great too. http://www.artscyclery.com/Giro_Privateer_Mountain_Shoes_Black/descpage-GRPMSB.html

I ordered these from Performance Bike during one of their holiday sales after doing a good bit of research on a few different types of MTB shoes. I wear a size 10 in just about every shoe I own so I ordered a size 44.5 after reviewing the Giro/Performance Bike size chart and adjusting for what I thought was a slightly smaller size with the euro shoe spec. The shoes came and my toes were CRAMPED. I took the shoes to my local Performance Bike to exchange and fortunately they happened to have several pair in stock. After trying on several different sizes I settled on a size 46.

So after a few rides (Maryland cold, wet, frozen weather) the shoes still look brand new. The fit is still spot on unlike my Shimano shoes which seemed to have "stretched" after a few rides. IMHO this is an awesome shoe. So awesome in fact, that I'm considering ordering a 2nd pair especially since they can be had so cheap right now.

My best advice: If you can find these on sale pull the trigger on the purchase. Just be prepared to deal with the quirky sizing......

I use spd pedals for both my road and mountain bikes. I got these in white/black for use with my road bike but I've ridden both bikes with them. They are far better shoes than the low level shimano's I've used previously. The soles are very stiff, the toe box is roomy, and they accomodate my wide foot with high instep, (unlike Sidi or Shimano where I have to get extra wide to be able to use the cinch buckle). I am a 10.5 US and I fit the 46 perfectly.